Abraham O. Smoot

Abraham Owen Smoot (17 February 1815-6 March 1895) was Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1857 to 1866, succeeding Jedediah M. Grant and preceding Daniel H. Wells, and the father of Senator Reed Smoot.

Biography
Abraham Owen Smoot was born in Owenton, Kentucky on 17 February 1815, and his family moved to Tennessee during his childhood. Smoot converted to Mormonism in 1835, and he became an elder in February 1836. Smoot moved to Missouri in 1837 and preached in Missouri and Arkansas in 1838, later moving to Iowa and preaching in South Carolina. Smoot became involved with politics, strongly supporting slavery and becoming one of the most prominent slave owners in Utah. Smoot also supported the LDS Church's priesthood ban on African-Americans. Following the death of Jedediah M. Grant in 1857, Smoot was elected Mayor of Salt Lake City, and he later became President of the Utah Stake in Provo before becoming the head of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University. Smoot died in 1895, and his son Reed Smoot became a member of the US Senate from Utah in 1903.